Rolling massage device



Oct. 30, 1962 w. F. LowE 3,060,928

ROLLING MASSAGE DEVICE Filed July 5, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. wl-:lGLE F. LowE 3,950,928 ROLLING MASSAGE DEVICE Weigle F'. Lowe, Weeks Drive, RED. 4, Huntington, N.Y. Filed .Iuly 5, 1961, Ser. No. 121,872 7 Ciaims. (Cl. 12S-57) This invention relates to improvements in massaging tools.

One object of this invention is a massaging tool which will massage the body tissues gently and without injury thereto.

Another object is a massaging tool which massages without pinching the tissues.

Another object is a massaging tool which utilizes a massaging means which is soft, pliable, and resilient.

Another object is a massaging tool which self-seals a lubricant within the massaging means.

Another object is a massaging tool of but few and simple parts which are inexpensive to manufacture and easy to assemble into a very efhcient, durable, and salable, tool.

Other objects will appear from the detailed description considered in conjunction with the drawing, wherein:

FIG. 'l is a side elevation of the massaging tool as grasped in the hand which is shown in phantom.

FIG. 2 is a plan View of the massaging tool of FIG. l in inverted position.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the massaging tool taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 4 is a blown up cross sectional view of a fragment taken along the line 4 4 of FIG. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 5 is a blown up cross sectional view of a detail.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a modiiied form of massaging tool as viewed in an inverted position and with certain of the parts partially broken away.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the massaging tool of FIG. 6 when turned into a vertical position by a hand which is shown in phantom.

FIG. 8 is cross sectional view of the massaging tool taken along the line 8 8 of FIG. 6 and with the parts fully restored; and

FIG. 9 is a blown up perspective view of a fragment of a detail of another modified form.

Like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawing.

Referring iirst to FIGS. l to 5, the massaging tool 20 includes a frame or undercarriage 21 formed from strip steel or other tough and resilient metal of like characteristics. The undercarriage 21 is fabricated out of a square piece of metal of the same width as the strip stock, and all parts of the undercarriage 21 lie within the perimeter of said square piece of metal so that the amount of scrap metal after the undercarriage is fully fabricated is negligible because virtually the entire square piece is utilized in fabricating said undercarriage. The blank is pierced in four areas as indicated by the broken lines in FIG. 2 to form four metal tongues of equal size and similar contour, and the said tongues are struck up at right angles to the blank to form t-wo spaced pairs of ears 22, 22 the ears positioned diametrically opposite each other constituting a pair. A hole 23 (FIG. 3) is punched or otherwise formed in each ear 22, the holes 23, 23 in each pair of ears being coaxially aligned and dening sockets for supporting the reduced ends of one of the hollow spindles 24, 24. When the reduced ends of the spindles 24, 24 are supported in their respective sockets 23, 23 the spindles 24, 24 are in parallel alignment. The spindles 24, 24 are made of tubular stock;

United States Patent O aluminum tubing being light in weight gives good results. The outside diameter of the spindles 24 exceeds the diameter of the holes 23, 23, and each spindle 24 is accordingly stepped down at each end to form the annular shoulders 32, 32 (FIGS. 3 and 4) and the reduced ends which are sized to slide into any of the holes 23, 23. The shoulders 32, 32 abut the inner faces of the paired ears 22, 22 and are so spaced upon the spindle as to assure the clearance between the paired ears necessary to prevent the ears from binding against the ends of the spherical massaging elements 25, 25 which must rotate freely when mounted upon their spindles 24, 24.

After the massaging elements have been mounted upon the spindle 24 and the spindle has been supported in the paired ears 23, 23, the opposite ends of the spindle which project beyond the ears are expanded to form the annular flanges 26, 26. Each flange 26 is slightly larger in diameter than the hole 23 so that each shoulder 32 and each annular ange 26 engage the opposite faces of one of the paired ears 22 to interlock the spindle and the paired ears, as shown in FIG. 4.

Each spindle 24 is recessed lengthwise to provide a plurality of elliptical cavities 27, 27 (FIG. 3), and each of said cavities is concave and defines a dished-out reservoir or receptacle for accommodating a quantity of a suitable lubricant 28 (FIG. 5). The cavities 27, 27 eX- tend longitudinally along each spindle 24, and the spindle is preferably dished to provide two elliptical cavities 27, 27 arranged around the shaft diametrically opposite each other (FIG. 4), there being one pair of cavities 27, 27 for each massaging element 25 (compare FIGS. 3 and 4).

The spherical massaging elements 25, 25 are preferably composed of an oil-resistant rubber, vulcanized to a suitable degree which permits the spherical elements 25, 25 to yield slightly as they roll over the body tissue. The surfaces of the spheres are suitably smoothed as with an exceedingly line sand paper or the like which produces a polished finish. The rubber spheres 25, 25 are larger in diameter than the length of the elliptical cavities 27, 27 l(see FIGS. 3 and 4), so that the opposite ends of the internal or cylindrical walls of lthe rubber spheres 25, 25 extend far enough beyond the extremities of the cavities 27, 27 to provide a sealing tit against the surfaces of the cylindrical sections of the spindle 24 (compare FIGS. 3 and 4) which effectively and permanently seals the lubricant 28 within the chamber (see FIG. 5) confined between the curved wall of the rubber sphere 25 and the dished face of the spindle 24. The cylindrical wall of the rubber sphere 25 only engages spaced portions of the spindle 24 (compare FIGS. 3, 4, and 5), so that as the rubber sphere rotates upon its spindle 24 it continuously carries a film-like deposit of lthe lubricant 28 to the bearing surfaces of the spindle 24 conined by and/or between the opposite ends of the said sphere (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

The massaging tool 20 is provided with a handle 29 which may be a flat plate which may be secured to the undercarriage or base 21 in any preferred manner. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. l and 2, the plate which forms the handle 29 is shaped to congruence with the quatrefoil contour of the base 2l. The handle 29 (FIG. 1) is riveted to the base 21 with four rivets 30, 30 which are inserted through holes punched in the base 2l which register with similarly spaced holes formed in the plate or handle 29. The handle 29 may be a plate composed of wood fiber formed under pressure, or i-t may be made from a suitable plastic stock such as polyethylene. The plate, whether made of pressed wood ber, or of plastic stock, may be bonded to the metal base 2l. by a layer of cement 31 (FIG. 3).

In the modiiied form shown in FIG. 9 the handle consists of a metal plate 51 secured to the undercarriage or base plate 2lb by bending the metal tongues formed on plate 51 around and beneath the edge face of the base plate 2lb as shown at S3 (FIG. 9).

When the handle 29 and the undercarriage 21 are attached together, they form a sub-assembly unit which may next be spray-coated with a quick drying paint, and said coating may either ,be cured, or allowed to dry at room temperature, until the paint is hardened and set. When the handle 29 and the undercarriage are riveted together (FIG. l), the heads of the rivets Si?, 3d may be countersunk and sealed ol with a suitable filler before the sub-assembly is spray-coated. After spray-coating the sub-assembly, it is either cured, or allowed to dry at room temperature, until the coating is hardened and set.

After the spray-coating is set, the ears 22, 22 are sprung apart far enough to allow the reduced ends of the spindles 24, 24 lto register in the sockets 23, 23. The rubber spheres 25, 25 are mounted upon the spindles 24 after the dished cavities 27 have been lilled with a suitable heavy lubricant 28. After the spheres 25, 25 have been mounted upon -the spindles, the ears 22, 22 which are resilient, are spread apart far enough to permit the reduced ends of the spindles 24, 24 to register with the sockets 23, 23 in said ears whereupon said ears are released and move inwardly along the reduced ends of the spindles until said ears engage the stepped shoulders of the spindles 24, 24 in which position the outer ends of the reduced ends of said spindles project slightly beyond the outer faces of the ears 22, 22. The opposite ends of the hollow spindle are then enlarged by a suitable tool to form the annular flanges or lips 26, 26 (FIGS. 3 and 4) which draw the stepped shouiders of the spindles 24, 24 against the inner faces of the ears 22, 22 thus locking the spindles and the ears together. The amount of play along the spindles 24, 24 is not enough to attect the seals formed by the rubber spheres 2S, 2S and the spindles at opposite ends of the cavities 27, 27.

In the modied form shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and 8, a metal cover plate 40 may overlie and be riveted to the undercarriage 21a from which the ears 22a, 22a may be struck up and provided with sockets for the spindles which carry the spherical massaging elements 25, 25 as previously described. A handle 41 is swivelled upon the undercarriage 21a and its cover plate 40 so that said undercarriage may turn upon said handle whenever the rubber spheres 2S, 25 seek to move along a new direction of massage.

The swivel connection between the undercarriage 21a and the handle 41 may be of any preferred construction. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the swivel mechanism 44 includes the ball bearings 4S, 45, but any other type of swivel, such as a stud mounted upon one of the plates 21a, 42, rotatable in a collar mounted upon the other plate 21a or 42, will give satisfactory results.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the handle 41 consists of a metallic lower plate 42 and a cover plate 43 composed of a plastic material or of pressed wood, or the like. Cover plate 43 may be secured to the lower plate 42 in any preferred manner as by cementing the plates 42 and 43 together (FIG. 8), or by inserting countersunk rivets 36a in one of the said plates, passing them through openings in the other plate, and peening over the ends of the rivets.

To insure a rm `grip upon the massaging tool, it may be equipped with `a eXible looped strap 46 which may be attached to the thandle 41 in any preferred manner as by clamping the opposite ends of said llexible strap between said lower plate 42 and the clamping plates 47, 47 (see FIGS. 7 and 8) by means of the screws 4g, 48 which pass through the plates 47, 47 and screw into the plate 42.

Instead of using a Wooden or a plastic handle member, a metallic cover plate may lbe substituted (FIG. 9), The handle 50 (FIG. 9) may include a metallic cover plate 51 which may be provided with a peripheral skirt for spacing the cover plate 51 away from the undercarriage Zb. Cover plate Si is provided with a series of tongues 52 formed as an integral part of the cover plate and blanked out of the metal of the square which would ordinarily -form a part of the scrap discarded when the concave portions of the plate 51 are stamped out to form the quatreioil thereof. The tongues 52 are crimped around the edge of the undercarriage 2lb and underneath the periphery thereof to secure the plate El upon the undercarriage 2lb against tension exerted by the peripheral skirt of the plate 51 again-st the periphery of the upper face of the undercarriage 2lb. The cover plate 51 may be attached to the undercarriage 2lb after said undercarriage has been completely fabricated by striking up the ears 22h, 22h and forming the holes therein for supporting the spindles 24, 24 in the manner previously described.

To reduce the weight of the tool without sacrificing the strength thereof its various parts may be made of aluminum, a resilient aluminum being used to make the base plates or undercarriages 21, 21a, and 2lb. If an aluminum cover plate is substituted for the pressed wood fiber plate which forms the handle 29 (FIGS. l to 3), the said plate may be made without a skirt, so that the cover plate and the base plate 21 rest flatly one against the other and are clamped together by crimping the tongues around and beneath the peripheral edge of the base plate 2i. Any of the cover plates 40, 43, or 51 may be made of aluminum, may rest atly against their respective plates 21a, 42, and 2lb and be secured thereto by tongues similar to the tongues 52 in FIG. 9.

The ears 22, 22a and 22h, are clamped to the spindle 24 between the annular shoulders 32 (FIGS. 3 and 4) and the annular anges 26 formed at the ends of the spindles 24.

What is claimed is:

l. In a massaging tool and in combination a single piece of resilient metal blanked out to con-form to the contour of a quarefoil and defining a base, each of the said foils having a U-shaped tongue formed therein, each of said tongues being contained within the area of its associated foil, said tongues being bent at right angles to said base to form a plurality of pairs of ears depending from diametrically oppositely disposed foils of said base, each of said ears having an opening extending through said ear from its inner to its outer face, said openings being identical in size and shape and spaced at the same dist-ance below said base, corresponding holes in each ear of the same pair being coaxially aligned, a plurality of tubular spindles one for each pair of ears, said spindles having shoulders formed adjacent the opposite ends thereof, said shoulders being too large to pass through said openings in said ears, each spindle being supported in a pair of said openings, said shoulders abutting the inner faces of said ears and the ends of said spindles projecting beyond the outer faces of said ears, 'annular ilanges projecting laterally outwards from the ends of said spindles and engaging the outer faces of lsaid ears to lock said spindles to said ears, and spheres composed of oil-resistant rubber rotatably supported upon said spindles and hetween said ears.

2. A massaging tool as ldened in claim l wherein the spindles are dished between their annular shoulders to form a plurality of elliptical cavities, and said cavities are contained by and sealed within the ends of said spherical massaging elements.

3. A massaging tool as defined in claim l wherein the spindles are dished to form a plurality of concave recesses for containing a lubricant, and the rubber of which each rotatable sphere is composed continuously engages the peripheral manginal edge of the recess to form a leak-proof seal which contines any lubricant contained in said recess within said sphere.

4. A massaging tool as defined in claim l, said tool having a quatre foil-shaped handle `congruent with said base, said base and said handle being sized to be grasped by the hand, said quatrefoils being contoured to accommodate the fingers when grasped in the hand, said handle being congruently superposed upon said base, and means for securing said base and said handle together and in congruence.

5. A massaging tool as defined in claim l, saidgtool having a handle, said handle being congruent with said base, said handle being sized to be grasped in the hand and being contoured to accommodate the fingers when so grasped, and means for rotatably supporting said base upon said handle to enable `said rubber spheres to continue to rotate upon said spindles along any direction of massage.

6. A massaging tool as defined in claim 1, said tool also having a handle, said handle being quatrefoil in contour, tongues extending outwardly from said handle at each of the junctions of adjacent foils of said quatrefoil, said handle and said base being otherwise congruent, said handle overlying said base with said foils in congruence, and said tongues bending downwardly between the foils of said handle and said base and underneath the peripheral marginal edge of said base to clamp said handle and said base together and in congruence.

7. In a massaging tool and in combination two at metal plates, said plates constituting an upper plate and a lower plate, said plates -being quatrefoil in contour and congruent and when superposed one above the other lying entirely within the plane of congruence of said quatrefoils, the metal of the lower plate being resilient, similar portions of each foil of said lower plate being pierced to form a tongue, said tongues being congruent, a hole passing through each of said tongues, said tongues being bentdownwardly below and at right angles to said lower plate to form a plurality of pairs of diametrically oppositely spaced holed ears, the holes in each pair of ears being coaxially aligned to define bearings, a plurality of tongues merging with and projecting outwardly from between adjacent foils of said upper plate, said upper plate overlying said lower plate in the plane of congruence, said tongues of said upper plate extending downwardly between adjacent foils of both of said plates and engaging beneath the peripheral edge of the lower plate thereby clamping said plates together in congruence to complete a sub-assembly of a massaging tool, said upper plate constituting the handle for such massaging tool, said lower plate constituting the undercarriage for such massaging tool, and all parts of said sub-assembly lying entirely within the contour and plane of said quatrefoils.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,572,627 Kelly Oct. 23, 1951 2,633,844 Herndon Apr. 7, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 197,715 Switzerland Aug. 1, 1938 

